A picnic table placed in the middle of the desert. A card table sitting in the middle of the woods. A dining table placed next to the campfire. Unless there is a private or public campground surrounding the aforementioned desert, woods, or campfire, it is unlikely that a table will be sitting there for a camper to use. Even in a campground, not every campsite has picnic tables. And for the camper that camps in a less populated area, there will certainly not be any tables around for the camper to use.
The larger the group, the more important it may be to have a table available. This is particularly true for a family of campers. That means that the camper must bring his own table. Moreover, a camper requires a table that is portable, so that he may move the item easily to the location.
Historically, the first portable table sets were one piece, tabletop and "frame," really just the legs of the table, connected together. Typically, the table was made of a non-bending stiff structure, usually metal, with legs that fold underneath and into the table. The problem with this type of conventional table is that it is bulky, usually very heavy, and difficult to carry. Also, because the "table frame" is limited to four vertical legs, either the whole set must be heavy and be of limited portability, or be lightweight and not very sturdy. Also, with this type of conventional portable table, because the table does not fold up and disconnect from the frame, or legs in this instance, a conventional portable table of the aforementioned type cannot fold up to be easily transportable in any type of car.
As a result, in today's market, the direction of the manufacturers is to provide a table frame and tabletop of greater portability. One way that this has been achieved is to construct a separate portable tabletop and separate portable table frame. The present day conventional portable table frames are collapsible, so that they are easily transportable. The second generation conventional portable table frame, however, is made up of several parts, having to be disassembled for transport or storage, and having to be reassembled for use. The present day conventional portable table frames of this type must be assembled for use out of several parts. This means the legs of the table, along with support arms for supporting the table top must be screwed or locked together when the table is used, and then taken apart when the table frame is put away. Also, typically, the support arms, whether there are two, three or four, each are one long arm, making the frame less portable. The support arm might have a hinge to allow the support arm to be bent for transport, but this design makes the frame less sturdy. Lastly, the existence of several detaching parts increases the possibility that parts of the table frame may be lost or broken, rendering the table frame and table top unusable.
A foldable table frame of the present invention meets the needs of portability, ease of use, and sturdiness that are required of present day portable tables. The foldable table frame, however, is superior to the present day tables. Unlike present day tables, the foldable table frame may be opened and closed in one easy motion, has a structure that still provides strong support for a portable table top, folds into a compact bundle for easy storage, and avoids the risk of losing parts, or parts not fitting over time, by having a one-piece structure.